Steppenwolf Theatre Company's summer production of Middletown, Will Eno's portrait of a small town, directed by Les Waters, begins June 16 in Chicago. It features ensemble members Alana Arenas, Danny McCarthy, Tim Hopper, Ora Jones, Martha Lavey and Tracy Letts, among others.

Les Waters and Ora Jones in rehearsal.
Photo by Joel Moorman

The play ends the 2010-11 Steppenwolf season, running to Aug. 14 in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St., in Chicago. Opening is June 26.

The production also features Brenda Barrie, Molly Glynn, Keith Kupferer and Michael Patrick Thornton.

According to Steppenwolf, "Mary Swanson just moved to Middletown. About to have her first child, she is eager to enjoy the neighborly bonds a small town promises. But life in Middletown is complicated: neighbors are near strangers and moments of connection are fleeting. Middletown is a playful, poignant portrait of a town with two lives, one ordinary and visible, the other epic and mysterious."

Eno's frequently produced play Thom Pain (based on nothing) was a finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. His other works include The Flu Season, Tragedy: a tragedy and Oh, the Humanity and other exclamations. Waters is associate artistic director of Berkeley Repertory Theatre.